Yahoo co-founder resigns

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from the company.
The resignation comes just two weeks after former PayPal executive Scott Thomson was appointed Yahoo's new Chief Executive.
Mr. Yang founded Yahoo in 1995 with David Filo.
In a statement, Mr. yang said; "The time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo!".

Story Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16602041

£6.5 million prize on offer for inventor

A $10 million (£6.5 mill) prize has been offered to researchers who can create a Star-trek like medical gadget that is capable of capturing 'key health metrics and diagnosing a set of 15 diseases'.
The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize was launched at the CES in Las Vegas and must weigh a maximum of 5lb.
So come on Trekkies, get inventing!

Story Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16518171

60 new apps for Facebook Timeline

Facebook has announced 60 new apps for it's Timeline sharing programme.
Known as 'frictionless sharing', the new apps allow users to share music, photos, favourite destinations and profile preferences, within their new Timeline structure.
Developers are expected to add many more apps as Facebook encourage people to spend more time online and thus generate more advertising revenue.
"We think that thousands of applications will be built on this platform in the coming weeks and months," said Carl Sjogreen, Facebook director of platform products, at the launch of the apps in San Francisco.
Find out more on the Facebook blog at; http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150469721182131

Story Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16625159

Apple iPhone 4S Prices Announced In China

China Unicom, the exclusive operator partner for Apple's iPhone smartphones in China, has announced the contracted prices for iPhone 4S, starting at CNY5,880.
According to China Unicom, the contracted prices for 16GB iPhone 4S is CNY5,880; for 32GB is CNY6,999; and for 64GB is CNY7,999. Meanwhile, users can choose ten different mobile fee packages with monthly prices ranging from CNY66 to CNY886.
China Unicom announced solutions for users who want to gain the iPhone 4S products for free. For those who want the 16GB and 32GB versions, they can sign a three-year contract with monthly package of CNY286; and those who want the 64GB version need to sign a three-year contract with monthly package of CNY386. If the users prefer a two-year contract, they need to pay CNY386 each month for 16GB; or a CNY586 monthly package for 32GB and 64GB phones to gain the smartphones for free.
Apple announced that it will start selling the iPhone 4S in 21 countries and regions, including the Chinese mainland, from January 13, 2012. The retail prices for the iPhone 4S without contracts are CNY4,988 for 16GB, CNY5,888 for 32GB, and CNY6,788 for 64GB in mainland China.
Meanwhile, the Chinese electronics and home appliances retailer Suning has announced that it has started accepting orders for the iPhone 4S. Customers who pay the CNY200 deposit will be first in line to get the new iPhone 4S.

Asus To Launch Android-powered Eee Pad In June 2010

According to Jonney Shih, chairman of the Taiwanese PC maker Asus, the company plans to unveil its tablet computer product Eee Pad in June 2010.
Prior to this, Shih said the company would unveil its Eee Pad during Computex Taipei 2010 held from June 1 to 5 and said the new product will be officially put into the market in the third quarter of 2010.
Shih said to compete with the iPad, the tablet computer released by Apple, Eee Pad has unique designs and functions. Eee Pad will reportedly adopt Google's Android platform, provide built-in USB ports, and support Flash.
The price of Eee Pad is estimated at between USD479 and USD510 and its sales volume is expected to reach 300,000 by the end of this year.

Dell To Launch Android Tablet In China

An executive from Dell has revealed that its eye-catching 10-inch tablet computer Streak 10 Pro will be first launched in the Chinese market.
John Thode, Dell's manager for mobile business and vice president, told local media that the Android-based Streak 10 Pro will have its debut launch in China this summer, and consumers in America will have to wait until next year. He believes the American market cannot provide a possible growth environment for this new product of Dell.
Prior to this, Dell launched a small tablet Dell Streak 7 and a mixed device Inspiron Duo in the U.S.; however, it has not developed a powerful tablet computer product that can compete with Apple's iPad.
Amit Midha, chairman for Dell Greater China, said the Chinese market is very important for Dell. China has the largest scale and second highest growth speed among emerging markets and it is the second largest market following America, said Midha, so the shipment in China is expected to exceed America in the next few years.
Midha revealed that by the end of 2011, there will be 10,000 stores selling Dell products in China and its customer service center in the country will be increased to 2,000.
Dell Streak 10 is reportedly the company's third tablet computer product and its first 10-inch Android tablet.

Apple introduce iBooks Author

Apple have introduced iBooks Author, a brand new iPad app that allows anyone to create their own books.
Released to compliment Apple iBooks 2.0, Author's aim is to create the latest in text books available for the educational market.
The textbooks will sell for $14.99, (£9.64), and will belong to the student.
Textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Pearson, and McGraw Hill, representing nearly 90% of the textbook publishing market, are on board. Additional partners include DK Publishing and E.O. Wilson, both of whom introduced new textbooks Thursday.
Author is a desktop publishing programme that allows people to create their own textbooks with galleries, media and other aids to enhance the author's ebooks.
There is, however, a section in the licensing agreement that states;
“IMPORTANT NOTE: If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.”
Always a catch!

Story Source: http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

New Blackberry President For China As Prices Drop

Research In Motion, the Canadian smartphone maker known for its BlackBerry brand, announced that Alex Lambeek will become its new president for the China region.
Prior to this, rumors were swirling that RIM would soon make adjustments to its Chinese market strategy. With this news, Gregory Shea, former president for RIM China, will become an adviser for the China region. At the same time, Alex Lambeek, former vice president of sales for China and vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific, will take the Shea's previous RIM job.
The new appointment has been officially announced by the company; meanwhile, Lambeek will continue his role as vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific.
Lambeek joined RIM at the beginning of 2011 and has been taking the responsibility for marketing in Asia Pacific. Prior to that, he worked for Nokia in Asia Pacific and many other countries around the world, leading the entry-level phones department worldwide, especially targeting the emerging Chinese, Indian, and Indonesian markets.
RIM will apparently readjust its strategy for the Chinese market in 2012 by diminishing its handset partnerships with operators and greatly increasing its retail channels, including new BlackBerry sales outlets and handset experience stores. RIM will also lower the price of its products in China, and will introduce BlackBerry Internet Service pricing subsidies.

High-end Smartphones From ZTE Shipping Soon To America

Cheng Lixin, ZTE's president for North America, said that the company plans to launch high-end smartphones for the U.S. in 2012.
Previously, ZTE was best known for making low-end phones and for being a broadband integrator. The announcement marks its entry into the high-end phone market, where it will face competition from smartphone giants like Apple, HTC, and Samsung.
Cheng believes it is a rare opportunity for ZTE to enter the U.S. high-end phone market. The company expects the U.S. to become its largest consumer market by 2015.
Though Cheng did not disclose many details about the new smartphones, the company's new products may use the Android and Windows phone operating systems based on its existing product line. For pricing, he said with similar features as iPhone, their new products will be more affordable. He also revealed the company is talking with the four major carriers in the U.S. about the phones.
During the third quarter of 2011, ZTE's phone sales in the U.S. achieved a year-on-year increase of 157%, showing strong growth momentum, said Cheng.
ZTE already has a presence in the U.S. market, but they only released phones of the lower-end variety, and are available on pre-paid networks, like Boost Mobile, MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless. AT&T is the only major national network that carriers ZTE handsets.

Auto IE updates in 2012 say Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that it will be automatically update Internet Explorer (IE) from January 2012.
Future updates will be applied without the knowledge of the user in an attempt to help beat scammers offering fake updates, users can, however, opt out and chose their own upgrade pace say Microsoft.
Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's IE boss, explained the plan in a blog post.
"We want to make updating to the best protection possible as fast and simple as we can for Windows customers. IE is how millions of Windows customers connect to the Web, so keeping that part of Windows updated at all times is critical to keeping them safe online. With automatic updates enabled through Windows Update, customers can receive IE9 and future versions of Internet Explorer seamlessly without any "update fatigue” issues."
Further information can be found at; http://windowsteamblog.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2011/12/15/ie-to-start-automatic-upgrades-across-windows-xp-windows-vista-and-windows-7.aspx

Huawei Will Invest USD150 Million In India In 2012

Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei has announced plans to invest up to USD150 million in India in 2012 to promote its business growth.
Sures Vaidyanathan, Huawei's spokesperson in India, told local media that Huawei is committed to the long-term development in India, and it will accelerate the development of enterprise business, terminal business, 2G capacity expansion, 3G and LTE technical platforms.
Huawei provides equipment to operators to help them offer these technologies to end-users. Huawei's Indian branch is one of the largest information and communications technology companies in the local market and it is also one of the largest broadband equipment suppliers.
Over the past ten years, Huawei has invested USD1.5 billion in the development, business, market, and manufacturing base in India, establishing the marketplace as its hub for resources and corporate social responsibility. So far, the Indian market contributes 3% of the global net income of Huawei. In 2010, the Chinese company's total revenue was CNY185.176 billion.
Huawei's major income source in India is the traditional operator business, followed by enterprise and mobile device businesses. For the year of 2012, the company plans to balance its revenue from these three sectors, said Vaidyanathan.

App download record smashed

App downloads broke an all time record high in the last week of December, 2011, according to analyst firm Flurry.
According to figures, 1.2 billion apps were downloaded in the Christmas week, buoyed by users given new devices given as presents and discounted app offers.
The US was responsible for nearly half of all downloads, followed by China, with 99mill app downloads
The UK downloaded 81 million apps, beating Canada (41 mill), closely followed by Germany and France both downloading 40 million.
In Flurry's most recent report, they estimated that a record-breaking 6.8 million iOS and Android devices were activated on Christmas Day, along with an equally record-breaking 242 million application downloads.

Apple iTV on the way?

Apple have ordered component parts to make iTV sets in 2012 according to sources.
Digitimes, quoting Korean media sources, reports that Apple will be focusing on 32 inch and 37inch sets using Samsung electronic chips and Sharp displays.
Apple TV launched a set top box in 2006 but the new sets will incorporate the technology into a whole TV package.
The new iTV will be released late in 2012 according to rumours.